Today’s column addresses questions about how Social Security survivor’s benefits are calculated if the record holder dies before filing for their retirement benefit, eligibility for benefits on the record of a first spouse after remarriage and taking spousal benefits before full retirement age. Larry Kotlikoff is a Professor of Economics at Boston University and the founder and president of Economic Security Planning, Inc, which markets Maximize My Social Security and MaxiFi Planner.
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If I Die Before Filing, What Will My Spouse’s Social Security Widow’s Benefits Be?
Hi Larry, Should die before filing for my Social Security retirement benefit, how are my spouse’s survivor’s benefits be calculated? My FRA benefit is $1,630. I am 65 and my spouse is 58. She doesn’t have much of a work record since she mainly stayed home and raised out children.
Could she qualify for a spousal benefit at her FRA, even I don’t file? How would that amount be calculated? Thanks, Tony
Hi Tony, If you die before full retirement age (FRA) without having applied for your benefits, your surviving spouse’s unreduced widow(er)’s benefit rate would be calculated based on 100% of your primary insurance amount (PIA). Your PIA is basically the Social Security retirement benefit rate you would receive if you started drawing at FRA.
If you die after the month you reach FRA and without having applied for benefits, your surviving spouse’s unreduced benefit rate would be calculated based on 100% of your PIA increased by the delayed retirement credits (DRCs) that you earned up to the month of your death.
For example, say Bob was planning to wait until 70 to start drawing Social Security retirement benefits, but he dies in the month he turned 68. Bob was born in 1954, making his FRA 66. Therefore, Bob had earned 24 months worth of DRCs by the time he died. DRCs add 2/3rds of 1% per month to a person’s benefit rate, so if Bob had started drawing his benefits in his month of death, his benefit rate would have been calculated by increasing his PIA by 16% (i.e. 2/3rds of 1% x 24).
If Bob’s surviving spouse starts drawing widow(er)’s benefits at their FRA or later, they could then be paid Bob’s full benefit rate including DRCs. So if Bob’s PIA was $1,600, for example, his surviving spouse’s unreduced widow’s rate would be $1,856 (i.e. $1,600 x 1.16).
Unless your spouse has a child in their care who qualifies for benefits on your record, the earliest that they could qualify for widow’s benefits is at 60, or 50 if they’re disabled. If your spouse starts drawing reduced widow(er)’s benefits at 60 or earlier, their benefit rate would be calculated at 71.5% of the higher of a) your PIA, or b) your full monthly benefit rate including DRCs.
Thus, if Bob’s spouse in our example above starts drawing widow(er)’s benefits in the month they reach 60, their benefit rate would be $1,327 (i.e. $1,856 x .715). Or if Bob’s spouse starts drawing widow(er)’s benefits between 60 and FRA, they’d receive a percentage somewhere between 71.5% and 100% of $1,856 depending on their age at the time they start drawing.
You may want to consider using my company’s software — Maximize My Social Security or MaxiFi Planner — to fully analyze all of your options so that you can determine the best strategy for maximizing benefits for you and your spouse. Social Security calculators provided by other companies or non-profits may provide proper suggestions if they were built with extreme care. Best, Larry
Am I Still Eligible For Survivor Benefits?
Hi Larry, My wife passed away in 2014. She was 74 and I was 54. I got remarried in 2020. Would I be able to file for my survivor’s benefit and draw that until I take my retirement benefit at 70? Thanks, Richard
Hi Richard, I’m sorry for your loss.
You couldn’t become entitled to survivor benefits on your deceased spouse’s record if you’re currently married and if you remarried prior to the day before your 60th birthday. But if you remarried after reaching 60, you could potentially claim widower’s benefits and delay claiming your retirement benefits until later.
Your best filing strategy could be either filing for reduced widow’s benefits early and then switching to your own record at 70, or filing for reduced retirement benefits on your own record early and then filing for unreduced widow’s benefits at full retirement age (FRA). Normally, you would want to start out drawing the lower benefit first and then switch to the higher record when it reaches its highest potential rate. Best, Larry
Will My Wife’s Spousal Benefit Be 50% Of My Rate When I Apply Even If She’s Younger Than Me?
Hi Larry, My wife is 18 months younger than me. I am eligible for 100% benefits at age 66 and 2 months. Can she apply for and receive her spousal benefit at 50% of my rate when I apply or must she wait until she reaches her full retirement age later on? Thanks, Paul
Hi Paul, Spousal benefits are reduced for age if the person receiving spousal benefits starts drawing them prior to their full retirement age (FRA). So if you start drawing your benefits at FRA and if your wife starts drawing spousal benefits before she reaches FRA, she wouldn’t get a full 50% of your benefit rate.
You don’t mention whether or not your wife is eligible for Social Security retirement benefits based on her own earnings history, but if she is then that would affect the amount of spousal benefits that she could be paid. If a person born after 1/1/1954 is eligible for both their own retirement benefits and spousal benefits, Social Security pays their own benefit first plus an excess, or partial, spousal benefit. Best, Larry